This invention relates to systems for controlling access to a computer and more particularly to verification of a person's identity by a finger anatomy detector in combination with means ensuring that the identified person has comprehended information conveyed before access is granted.
There are many situations in which it is necessary and/or desirable to verify that a particular person has permission to access, enter, or modify medical or other data in a computer environment. Although data may be entered and changed with the proper authority, medical records must have a trace system to track alterations to data. The date and time must be unalterable and traceable, along with the original data and the changed data, and who made the change. An electronic and/or a mechanical signature, based on State Law, must verify the identity of the responsible party.
An optional digital color or black and white photograph and an electronic signature stored in a computer or a mechanical signature may verify the identity of the individual giving the authorization.
Other methods have been used to verify the identity of the person seeking computer access. These sometimes involve code words, code numbers, and body characteristics such as fingerprints. Fingerprint systems are identifiers rather than verifiers and are expensive to purchase. They require an inordinate amount of memory storage compared to the system described herein. In Ernst U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,576,537, Miller 3,576,538, Schwend 3,585,594, Jacoby 3,648,240, Thruman 3,721,128, for example, the length of an individual's finger along its longitudinal axis is measured and used as a test of personal identity for credit card authorization purposes. In Frieling U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,487 thickness of the knuckle and the linear distance between the knuckles is used for verification of identity for credit card identity.
These systems can be quite costly and complex to implement.